Drought shaming

The hard data on Cali’s biggest water hogs may not be publicly available, but we all have eyes and a smartphone. So, as another season of “exceptional drought” descends on the West, people sick of witnessing egregious water waste in their backyard are taking to social media to vent.

#droughtshaming is blowing up. And it’s shoving another of California’s problems—vast income inequality—into an uncomfortable spotlight.

When drought shaming first started last summer, it was a state sanctioned activity. California passed a law that could fine residents up to $500 per day for wasteful activities that include hosing down driveways and overwatering lawns. (Recently, the state governor proposed to up that max daily penalty to $10,000.) Now, as the state enters its fourth year of drought, public attention has begun to shift toward some of the more obscene examples of water excess: Celebrities like Kim Kardashian and Kanye West, whose sprawling green lawns and glittering pools are literally oases in a desert, Ritz hotels that water-mist their wealthy patrons (wtf?), and certain wonderful corporations that source bottled water from drought-stricken regions.